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His rivals ridiculed him as “a guy who sounds like ChatGPT” and another called him out on his soft approach to Russia, calling him a supporter of a murderer. He was at the center of the debate. He was attacked for being a political novice and for his foreign policy ignorance. Suddenly he was discovered! His name was difficult to pronounce a couple of months back. This all happened at the first primary presidential debate held on 23rd August 2023, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Vivek Ramaswamy, a businessperson and a rank outsider shared the stage with seven other candidates, which had some career politicians and illustrious names such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie among others. Donald Trump, former President, chose the give this debate a pass. Trump is leading the race, with 55% approval as per Republican polling current. The ultimate winner will take on President, Joe Biden, as the Republican candidate, for the 2024 presidential election.
Who is Vivek Ramaswamy?
Vivek Ramaswamy, born on August 9, 1985, is an American entrepreneur who has entered the 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries. He made his official announcement to run for the Republican nomination for the 2024 United States presidential election in February 2023.
Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign began by asserting that the United States is currently experiencing a national identity crisis triggered by what he identifies as “new secular religions like COVID-ism, climate-ism, and gender ideology.” Additionally, he has expressed criticisms of environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) initiatives. As of August 2023, Forbes approximates his net worth at $950 million.
Early Life
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Hindu Tamil Brahmin immigrant parents on August 9, 1985, Ramaswamy was raised in Ohio while maintaining ancestral connections to Kerala, India. His father, V. Ganapathy Ramaswamy, worked as an engineer and patent attorney, while his mother, Geetha Ramaswamy, practiced geriatric psychiatry. The family immigrated from the Palakkad district in Kerala, India.
Education
After attending public schools until eighth grade, Ramaswamy continued his education at Cincinnati’s St. Xavier High School, where he graduated as valedictorian in 2003 and excelled in junior tennis. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in biology, summa cum laude, from Harvard College in 2007, followed by a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 2013. His time at Harvard was marked by his libertarian viewpoints and his presidency of the Harvard Political Union.
Personal Life
Ramaswamy is a practicing Hindu, fluent in Tamil, and has understanding of Malayalam. He adheres to a vegetarian lifestyle and actively supports animal rights. He is married to Apoorva Ramaswamy, a physician, and together they have two children. He met Apoorva when both were graduate students in Yale.
Business Career
In 2007, Vivek Ramaswamy co-founded Campus Venture Network, a platform supporting university students with business aspirations. He worked at QVT Financial from 2007 to 2014, playing an active role in the biotech portfolio. In 2014, he established the biotechnology firm Roivant Sciences, known for its strategy of acquiring patents for underdeveloped drugs. Despite encountering both successes and setbacks, Roivant created multiple subsidiaries, and Vivek Ramaswamy remained a prominent figure in the biotech industry.
Vivek Ramaswamy has been connected with various ventures, including his co-founding of Strive Asset Management in 2022, where he voiced opposition to ESG and “woke” ideologies. Throughout his presidential campaign, he has aligned himself with conservative Christian values and demonstrated support for Donald Trump. He was one of the first to raise his hands in the debate when asked about supporting Trump if found guilty.
Vivek Ramaswamy’s philosophical mooring
Vivek is a rank outsider. He doesn’t come with political baggage and that makes his voice refreshingly unorthodox in politically bold. He has constantly expressed his views on ESG and called them anti-shareholder for mixing business with politics. Anti-Woke and anti-ESG is a recurring themes he has articulated.
When he said, “The climate change agenda is a hoax … more people are dying of bad climate change policies than they are of actual climate.” It is pertinent to note that global environmental challenges are so visible, and their impact was seen in the United States too in many natural disasters.
His concluding remarks, where he touched upon many topics, including controversial ones are peep into his ideas that make a broad philosophical basis. He said, “I was born in 1985 and I grew up in a generation where we were taught to celebrate our diversity and our differences so much that we forgot all of the ways that we are really just the same as Americans, bound together by a common set of ideals that set this nation into motion in 1776. And this is our moment to revive those common ideals. God is real. There are two genders. Fossil fuels are a requirement for human prosperity. Reverse racism is racism. An open border is not a border. Parents determine the education of their children. The nuclear family is the greatest form of governance known to man. Capitalism lifts us up from poverty. There are three branches of government, not four. And the U.S. Constitution, it is the strongest guarantor of freedom in human history. That is what won us the American revolution. That is what will win us the revolution of 2024.”
Presidential Campaign
Vivek Ramaswamy officially entered the realm of politics by announcing his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination in February 2023. His campaign highlights his strong support for Trump, advocating for policies ranging from conservative economic principles to distinct and disturbing foreign policy stances, on letting China handle Taiwan and Russia may have part of eastern Ukraine.
Epilogue
Vivek Ramaswamy may be a rookie as Pence remarked, but he has just shaken the Republican campaign. He exposed the vulnerability of other campaigners when they focussed on personal attacks against him. Some of those attacks, such as his political inexperience were valid arguments albeit partially, but many of those attacks were evidence of him being noticed and grudgingly respected by others. Vivek Ramaswamy appeared most prepared with direct communication and a very confident yet comfortable disposition. In the Republican polling, he stands in a third position now, which is a remarkable debut on the campaign trail for someone newly considered an outsider. In the political campaigns of modern times, where social media, TV, and mobile love sound bites and drama, he may do well. You never know, that a ‘skinny guy with an odd last name’ may upset the established order for the Republican presidential campaign.
